Weight problems 'not recognised' by parents

Many parents do not realise their children are overweight, a new study has found.

Researchers discovered that half of mothers with obese children, aged four to five, thought their youngsters were a normal weight, as did nearly two-fifths of fathers.

Meanwhile, 75 per cent of mothers and 77 per cent of fathers with overweight children did not think there was a problem.

The study, which involved more than 800 parents and 439 children, was carried out by scientists at the University Medical Centre Groningen in The Netherlands and is published in the journal Acta Paediatrica.

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Professor Pieter Sauer, from the university's department of paediatrics, claimed that public perception of what is a normal weight has 'shifted upwards' because a greater proportion of people are overweight or obese than in the past.

'It is vital that parents are aware of their children's weight if we are to prevent them becoming obese in later life,' he pointed out.

'The fact that the parents in our study perceived their children to be lighter than their BMI indicated is cause for concern.'

According to the UK government's 2008/09 National Child Measurement Programme for England, 22.8 per cent of four to five-year-old children were overweight or obese.

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